Joist bridging



SfPt 8, 1931 A. J. BATES. JR

JoIsT BRIJGING Filed sept. 26, 195o UlllllllhA HIM E mi lum, lllllllllilwl.

Patented Sept. 8, 1.931 A UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE ALBERT J. BATES, JR., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BATES EXPANDED STEEI'QA INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE' CORPORATION, OF EAST CHICAGO,

JOIST IBRIDGIN G Application filed September 26, 1930. Serial No. 484,564.

The present invention relates enerally to bridging for holding a pair of fanged steel joists in laterally spaced and parallel relation. More particularly the invention relates to that type of joist bridging which is in the form of a one-piece box channel strut that is adapted to extend diagonally between the joists and is designed to have the up er end thereof connected to the top flange ofp one of the joists and its lower end connected to the bottom flange of the other joist.

ln the manufacture of bridging of this type, it has heretofore been customary to form extensions at opposite ends of the flanges of the strut which may be .hammered or otherwise bent around the joist-flanges in order to connect the strut to the joists. In practice it has been found that Whereas a bridging of this character operates efliciently to hold the joists in connected relation, difficulty is-experienced in assembling or installing the bridging by virtue of the fact that the strut sometimes slips with respect to the joist during hammering of the extensions around the j oist flanges.

One object of the invention is to provide a bridging of the type here under consideration which may be installed more readily than previously designed bridgings of the same general type by virtue of the fact that provision is made for preventing .slippage of the strut relatively to the joists during connection of the ends of the strut to the joist-flanges.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bridging of the aforementioned type in which the strut is coped or cut away slightly inwardly of its ends to form notches for receiving the flanges of the joists and integral box channel members at the extreme outer ends of the strut which are adapted to be hammered or otherwise bent into interlocked or hooked relation with the joist-flanges in order to connect fixedly the strut to the Joists, and serve, during installation of the bridging, to prevent slippage of the 'strut relatively to the joists.

A further object of the invention is to provide a joist bridging which is generally of new and improved construction and may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost.

are more particularly defined lby claims at Y the conclusion hereof.

ln the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification or disclosure and in which like numerals of reference den-Ote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a perspective of a pair of expanded metal joists which`are held in laterally spaced and parallelrelation by means of a bridging embodying the invention; f

Ffgure 2 is a side elevation of the bridging, showing the manner in which the integral box channel members at the extremc outer ends of the strut are adapted to be bent into interlocked or hooked relation with the flanges of the joists; Y

Figure 3 is a side view of a box channel from which the bridging is made;

Figure 4 is a view, illustrating the manner in which the box channel is coped and bent to form the finished bridging; and s Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

rlhe bridging which forms the subject Inatter of the invention is in the form of a metallic one-piece strut and is designed to hold a pair of steel joists J and J2 in laterally spaced and parallel relation. The joists J and J2 are illustrated in the drawings as eX- tending vertically. They are formed of I- beams and comprise webs j, top flanges j and bottom flanges jz.. The flanges are formed `integrally with and project laterally from both sides or faces of the webs j. The webs are held in their vertical position and in connected relation by means of the strut which extends diagonally between the joists and, as hereinafter described, has the upper end thereof -connected to the top flangev jof the joist J and its lower end connected to the bottom flange 7'2 of the'joist J2;

The strut is formed of la length of box channel and comprises a web 6, a top flange 7 and a bottom flange 8. The flanges are arranged in parallel relation and are formed integrally with and project laterally from one side of the web 6. Slightly inwardly of the up er end of the strut the web 6 and the lower ange 8 are coped or cut away to form a downwardly facing rectangularly shaped notch 9. This notch is substantially equal in width to the flanges of the joists and is adapted to receive the upper flange y" of the joist J as indicated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. The portion of the flange 7 that is disposed directly above the coped or cut-away portion defines the top part of the notch and is adapted to be bent downwardly so that it fits directly against the upper flange of the joist J. The extreme upper end of the strut is left intact and operates to form a box channel locking member l0. This member defines the outer side of the notch and is adapted, during installation or assembly of the strut with respect to the joist J to hold the strut and joist aganist slippage. It is also adapted to be bent downwardly so that it is arranged in hooked relation with the flange j of the joist J and serves to clamp said flange against the portion of the web 6 that defines the inner side of the notch 9. In bending the locking member l0 into hooked relation around the upper flange of the joist J a hammer may be used. In the event that a hammer is not available, a bar may be inserted into the space between the flange por-A tions 7 and 8 of the locking member l0 and used as a lever to bend the locking member into place. The upper face of the flange portion 7 of the locking member 10 forms a flat surface which may be hammered upon in the event that a hammer is used in the installation or assembly of the strut. In the event that the flange of the joist is slightly wider than the notch 9, the web portion 6 of the locking member 10 is crushed, as indicated in Figure 2, and thus does not interfere with the bending of the locking member into hooked relation. To facilitate installation of the strut, the portion of the flange 7 that is disposed directly above the coped or cut-away portion is bent downwardly relatively to the intermediate or central portion of the strut, and the locking member 10 is bent slightly upwardly with respect to the aforesaid flange portion. As a result of this bending, the locking member is offset with respect to the strut. By bending the locking member upwardly, the entrance portion of the notch is not constricted and consequently the strut may be readily positioned with respect to the joist J so that the upper flange j is located in the notch. A characteristic and an advantage of utilizing the locking member l0 at the upper end of the strut is that during installation the joist J and the strut are held against slippage by the web portion 6 of the locking member and means is provided whereby abar or lever may be used in lieu of a hammer to efl'ect connection of the upper end of the Ystrut and the upper flange of the joist J.

Slightly inwardly of the lower end of the strut, the web 6 and the upper flange 7 are coped or cut away to form an upwardly facing rectangnlarly shaped notch ll. This notch is equal in width to the notch 9 and is adapted to receive the lower flange jz of' the joist J2, as indicated in Figures l and 2. The portion of the flange 8 that is disposed directly beneath the coped or cut-away portion at the lower end of the strut defines the bottom part of the notch ll and is adapted to be bent upwardly so that it fits directly against the lower flange of the joist J2. The extreme lower end of the strut is left intact, like the extreme upper end, and operates to forni a locking member l2. This member defines thel outer side of the notch ll and is adapted. during installation or assembly of the strut with respect to the joist J 2, to hold the strut against slippage and to be bent upwardly so that it is arranged in hooked relation with respect to the flange jz of the joist J2, and servesto clamp said flange against the portion of the web 6 that defines the inner side of the notch ll. Bending of the locking member l2 into place may be effected either by hammering on the flange portion 8 of the locking member or by inserting one end of a bar or lever between the 'flange portions 7 and 8 of said locking member and swinging the lever upwardly (see dotted lines Figure 2). To facilitate connection of the lower end of the strut and the bottom flange of the joist J 2, the portion of the flange 8 that is directly beneath the notch 11 is bent upwardly and the locking member 12 is bent downwardly.

In forming the bridging, a box channel (Figure 3) or a channel member of box channel character is first eut to the desired length. Thereafter, the channel is coped or cut away slightly inwardly of the ends thereof so as to form the notches 9 and 1l. After the cutting operation the flange portions that are located directly opposite the notches are bent as hereinbefore described in order to position the extreme ends of the channel in offset relation and thus complete the formation of the strut.

In assembling or installing the bridging, the joists J and J2 are first positioned apart the desired distance. The strut is then arranged diagonally between the joists and is manipulated so as to bring the upper flange y" of the joist J into the notch 9, and the lower flange 7'2 of the joist J 2 into the notch 11. Connection of the ends of the strut to the joists is effected by bending or hammering the looking members 10 and l2 into hooked relation with the flanges of the joists.

During the hammering or bending operation the jolst-fianges are engaged by the locking members and are clamped against the edges of the web 6 that deline the inner sides of the notches. After connection of the strut to the joists, the joists are held fixedly in laterally spaced and parallel relation. If it is desired to secure further the joists in place, one or more additional struts may be used as illustrated in Figure 1.

The hereinbefore described bridging may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost by virtue of the fact that the locking members 10 and 12 are formed integrally with the strut. Inasmuch as the locking members correspond to the strut in conformation, provision is made for preventing slippage of the strut with respect to the joist during installation, and bars or levers may be interlocked with the locking members and used to bend the latter into hooked relation with the 'oist-flanges.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A bridging for holding a pair of flanged joists in laterally spaced relatlon, consisting of a strut adapted to extend diagonally between the joists and embodying a flange and a web, said strut being provided at one end with means for connection to one of the j oists and having the web coped or cut away slightly inwardly of its other end to form a notch for receiving one of the flanges of the other joist and a locking member outwardly of the notch, said member being adapted to be bent into hooked relation with the aforesaidnge and embodying a web portion forjoist-iia engaging the latter transversely.

2. A bridging for holding a pair of iianged joists in laterally spaced relation, consisting of a strutof box channel character adapted to extend diagonally between the joists andprovided at one end thereof Vwith means for connection to one of the joists, the web and one of the flanges of the strut being coped or cut away slightly inwardly of the other end of the strut to form a notch for receiving one of the anges of the other joist and a box channel locking member outwardly of the notch, said member being left intact an adapted to be bent into locked relation ywit the aforesaid joist-lange.

3. A bridgin for holding a pair of flanged joists in laterally spaced relatlon, consistlng of a one-piece strut of box channel character adapted to extend diagonally between the joists and coped-or cut away slightly inwardly of the ends thereof to form onpositely facing notches for receiving the anges of the ioists and locking members at the extreme outer ends' of the strut, said members being adapted to be bent into hooked relation with the joist-ianges and embodying web portions for engaging transversely said flanges. 4. A bridging for holding a pair of flanged joists in laterally spaced relation, consisting cfa one-piece strut of box channel character adapted to extend diagonally between the joists and coped or cut away slightly inwardly of the ends thereof to form o positely facing notches for receivin the anges of the joists and locking mem ers at the extreme outer ends of the strut, saidmembers bein left intact and adapted to be bent into locke relation with the 'oist-fl'an es. Signed at East hicago, ndiana, this 22nd day of September, 1930.

ALBERT J. BATES, JR.

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